Loveland High School graduates offer 70 years of memories

Shirley Leopold ('45), left, shares a laugh with Lee Bashor ('43) and Jerry Leopold ('44) during the combined class reunion Saturday for Loveland High School graduates from the 1940's in the banquet room at Johnson's Corner. (Steve Stoner / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Willard Walker gestured at a cake decorated with a picture of a stately, two-story brick school and pointed out its features to his wife, Til Walker.

He graduated from the school, Loveland High School, in 1944. The couple was attending his 70th high school reunion at Johnson's Corner on Saturday. As he pointed at the cake, he discreetly dipped his finger into the icing.

It wasn't sneaky enough, though.

"You did that on purpose," Til said with a laugh. "You just wanted to taste the icing, you rascal."

Willard and Til met in 1973, married in 1996 and now live in Loveland. Although Til didn't attend Loveland High School, she said she was enjoying the time with her husband and the opportunity to meet his classmates. Willard roamed around the room, patting the shoulders of former classmates and laughing about memories of the past.

Willard could only recall one time he got into any trouble. One day, he skipped study hall with a friend, thinking no one would notice. The duo left for a Fort Collins pool hall where they spent the afternoon playing pool and smoking cigarettes.

When they returned, the principal called him down to the office.

"The principal knew my parents, who were very strict," Willard said. "He said, 'Next time, I'll let your parents worry about you.' In other words, he was saying, 'I'll shut up now, but, boy, you better behave.' That was the biggest problem I ever had, which wasn't too bad."

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Mostly, Willard remembered the ease with which he made friends with the help of his father's car. In the early 1940s, manufacturers stopped making cars because resources were diverted to World War II. Willard's father had just purchased a brand new Studebaker Commander, though.

"That car set me up socially because it was probably the newest one in town, and it was a good one," Willard said. "And I was just old enough to be able to drive it."

He would set a time with his friends to meet at the drugstore downtown, and they would all pile into the car. His friends loved getting to ride in the new car. They would drive to Fort Collins, out to the west of town and to visit other friends.

Willard also remembered the success his class had in football. He was a tailback on the football team, but didn't get to play much because of a broken ankle. His teammate and classmate Lee Bashor, a halfback in the class of '44, played on the team when they won the state championship in 1942.

Bashor said the football coach told him he didn't play well until the second half of each game, though, because his sweetheart was a drum majorette who played at halftime with the marching band.

A variety of Loveland High School memorabilia were on display at the 1940's class reunion Saturday in the banquet room at Johnson's Corner. (Steve Stoner / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Once he saw her, his coach told him he played better.

"She's a neat lady," Bashor said with a smile. He pointed to a woman at the reunion, Vera Bashor, the drum majorette — his high school sweetheart and now his wife.

He said it was a process to get her interest. He had a list of steps he said should be used in dating.

"When I was 13, the first thing I did was dive off the high board at the pool and splash her in the face," Lee said. "I got her attention."

Then, he went to meet her father and took her on a date to a taffy pull.

At the reunion, he slid into the seat next to the woman who he had splashed with water more than 70 years ago.

The Bashors talked and laughed with the people sitting around them at the table. There were more than 80 attendees at the event; former classmates, spouses, children and even a few grandchildren.

The reunion was for any Loveland High graduate during the 1940s; the oldest member in attendance graduated in 1942.

They reminisced, ate dinner and even joined together in song.

Gladys Amen, class of '48, played piano; Ed Spring, class of '45, played the guitar; and Ben Spreng, class of '45, led the group in singing tunes such as "Memories" and "Tennessee Waltz".

"I wish there was some way to capture all of this," Lee said. "We're going to talk about and see if we can get (all the classmates) to give us some information about themselves. This conversation is just a snippet of the knowledge and information in this room."

Jo Ann Grubb ('45), left, and Gladys Amen ('48) look at a decorated cake with a picture of Loveland High School on it during a combined class reunion for LHS graduates from the 1940's on Saturday in the banquet room at Johnson's Corner. (Steve Stoner / Loveland Reporter-Herald)